DCLA Premier Grants support first-time applicants.
Grant Request Range: $750–$3,000
This grant category is for individual Staten Island artists, collaborative groups of individuals, and community arts and cultural organizations who produce art or cultural programming. All projects must include a public component or simply a public sharing of work (for example, an exhibition/showing at a local venue). * First-time applicants must attend an application info session. Schedule is posted at the start of each grants cycle.
All art and artistic cultural disciplines are considered, including music, dance, digital/new media, film/video/animation, folk arts, humanities and cultural studies, interdisciplinary events/festivals, literature, public art, theatre, and performing and visual arts. Arts Education programs offering arts exposure (but not instruction and curriculum-based programs) at Staten Island public schools are eligible, as are programs taking place at senior centers.
Each grant cycle, under-resourced disciplines are identified and then prioritized in the panel process. The list of disciplines will be announced closer to November.
This grant is funded through the Greater New York Arts Development Fund (GNYADF) of New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA).
Video description: The project Climate Change Ain’t Nothing To Mess With is a public art Installation that took place over the course of one month on a busy corridor of Castleton Ave. Artist Cody Prez, along with youth participants from local communities transformed a 2 story high wall into a thought provoking & inspiring public art piece. This 2000 square foot, larger than life mural will enhance the aesthetic of #ArtistAlleySI, an outdoor public art space along a thriving commercial corridor in West Brighton. For more from Cody Prez: http://artworkbycodyprez.com/
This project was made possible (in part) by a DCLA Premier Grant from Staten Island Arts, with public funding from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
Guidelines & Eligibility
To be eligible for a Premier Grant, the applicant must meet ALL the following criteria:
- Proposals must focus on artistic or creative expression and cultural significance.
- Clearly stated objectives.
- Clear and realistic plan for implementation.
- Appropriate request level and realistic budget for stated proposal.
- Need and impact on the artistic discipline, geographic area, or local population: projects that address under-resourced communities or artistic disciplines will receive the foremost attention. Under-resourced communities have low or limited access to the means of cultural production as well as art programming/activities. Under-resourced disciplines are disciplines that have received low or limited funding from the arts council in the past.
- Demonstrated community interest or support of project.
- Applicant’s artistic experience, skill, and exhibition/performance history.
- The project should be accessible to any member of the community who wishes to partake in the experience. Venues should comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act standards. Virtual programs should provide captioning, subtitles, or ASL interpretation.
What is not eligible:
- Organizations receiving direct or discretionary funds from the Department of Cultural Affairs in the same fiscal year their SIA grant would be issued.
- Organizations with operating income budgets over $100,000 for two of the last three fiscal years.
- Programs that are essentially religious, recreational, rehabilitative, or therapeutic.
- Universities, colleges, primary and secondary schools and districts, school affiliates or components, in-school activities or programs/activities that exclusively serve a student audience with no public component.
- Programs serving only the applicant organization’s members.
- Operating expenses of privately- owned facilities (homes and studios).
- Deficit budgets, capital improvements, equipment purchases, fundraising events, scholarships, juror fees, prizes, lobbying expenses, entertainment, reception or food expenses, any non-arts related expenses or administrative costs unrelated to project.
Application Information
Applications for the 2024 cycle are currently open. Deadline to apply is January 31, 2024.
All first-time applicants must attend an information session. The information session schedule can be found here.
Selection Criteria
The following is the criteria used to decide on funding:
Work Sample: Can the applicant successfully create the project they propose from the work shown in the sample? Does it have artistic merit/cultural significance?
Community Outreach: How will their project be available to the public? Is it accessible to their intended audience? Projects which address communities or artistic disciplines which are under-resourced should receive the foremost attention.
Narrative: Does the narrative clearly articulate their project idea and aims? Does it show that the applicant has experience creating this kind of work, or that they can successfully do what they propose? Take into consideration their past work.
Budget: Are their numbers realistic? Do they have a realistic artist fee, materials fee, etc? Does their adjusted budget allow for the proposal to be completed as stated? Artist fees, marketing and publicity expenses, direct administrative expenses, supplies, and materials expenses are given priority.
Need Further Assistance?
All first-time applicants must attend an application seminar. (In addition, applicants who have not received funding in the past 2 years should attend an application seminar.) Once available, the seminar schedule is posted on the Grants Overview page.
During grants season, Grants Administrator Gena Mimozo also offers 1:1 grant support Monday through Friday from 3pm to 7pm for prospective applicants who already have a proposal in mind or who have multiple proposals in mind and need guidance/feedback.
If you are a first-time applicant, you must attend an application seminar before you request a consultation. If you have attended a seminar and would like a consult, please fill out this form.
If you have any additional questions, please contact Gena at gmimozo@statenislandarts.org, (718) 447-3329 x1003.